Watch: Verdasco stuns Wawrinka at Queen's
Two-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka loses to Fernando Verdasco at Queen’s Club as rain affects the tournament for a second day.
WATCH MORE: Gasquet beaten by brilliant Johnson
Two-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka loses to Fernando Verdasco at Queen’s Club as rain affects the tournament for a second day.
WATCH MORE: Gasquet beaten by brilliant Johnson
Maria Sharapova has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) after being banned from tennis for two years for using a prohibited drug.
Sharapova, who tested positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open, was last week suspended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The 29-year-old, a five-time Grand Slam winner, said in her appeal her ban should be “eliminated” or reduced.
Cas said it would rule on the Russian’s case by 18 July.
A statement from Sharapova’s lawyer said the ITF’s tribunal reflected the player “did not intend to violate the rules”.
It added she was given an “unfairly harsh suspension because she is such a famous athlete and they wanted to make an example out of her”.
Sharapova says she has been taking meldonium, a heart disease drug, since 2006 for health issues. It became a banned substance on 1 January 2016.
She has admitted she continued taking the substance past that date, saying she was unaware it had been added to the banned list as she knew it by another name – mildronate.
The ITF tribunal ruling said Sharapova tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition test on 2 February, as well as in the aftermath of her Australian Open quarter-final defeat by Serena Williams on 26 January.
It treated both results as a single anti-doping violation, with Sharapova’s ban backdated to 26 January.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said it would “review the decision, including its reasoning” before deciding whether to appeal.
Aged 17, Sharapova became the first Russian to win Wimbledon, added the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008, before completing a career Grand Slam with the French Open title in 2012.
She won the French Open again in 2014, but the 2018 tournament in Paris is the next major Sharapova can enter, unless her ban is reduced.
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Ivan Lendl returned to coaching duties with Andy Murray for the first time in over two years on Tuesday.
The Czech-born American took charge of an hour-long coaching session at Queen’s Club in London.
Murray is scheduled to play France’s Nicolas Mahut in his opening match at the Aegon Championships at around 13:00 BST.
However, their practice session was cut short by rain and more is forecast throughout the day.
Lendl arrived from the United States on Monday evening, having last week agreed a deal to resume his coaching role alongside Murray.
The pair split in March 2014 after a successful two-year period that saw Murray win his only Grand Slam titles at the US Open and Wimbledon, as well as Olympic gold.
Their practice session on Monday lasted an hour before the rain arrived, with British number seven Alex Ward providing the opposition across the net.
Lendl worked in tandem with Jamie Delgado, who joined Murray’s coaching set-up earlier this year, with the former world number one directing the drills.
Mahut, ranked 51st, should provide a stern test of Murray’s grass-court level when the pair meet, the Frenchman having won an ATP title on the surface in the Netherlands on Monday.
Murray, a four-time champion at Queen’s Club, lost to Mahut in the second round in 2012.
Eight-time Halle champion looks for another positive tournament on grass this week
Roger Federer hopes to enjoy a long stay in Halle this week at the Gerry Weber Open, his second grass-court event in as many weeks. But the World No. 3 also thinks some up-and-coming players could make a deep run on the grass.
Monday’s Stuttgart champion Dominic Thiem and NextGen players Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev all have the potential to surprise some people at the ATP World Tour 500 event, Federer said.
“Regarding Thiem, it depends on how tired he is. He really fought his way through last week plus Paris before. That was a huge task last week,” Federer said of the 22-year-old Austrian, who beat Federer in the semi-finals in Stuttgart and reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros. “[Eighteen-year-old] Fritz surely has potential, he loves playing on grass. I played him last week. I think he will have a great career.”
Federer also thinks the 19-year-old Zverev, who faces Viktor Troicki in the first round, could make a run in his home country. “Troicki will not be easy but if he gets through that match and gets into a rhythm he might make it to the semis or finals, that’s absolutely realistic,” he said. “I like Alex’s game. Therefore, I am curious what he will achieve over the coming years.”
Federer also called Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who fell in three sets on Monday to World No. 6 Kei Nishikori, “a huge talent”.
The eight-time Halle champion also talked about himself. He said his back continues to feel better, and he’s glad to have another week of grass-court tennis ahead of him.
“It’s much better. I served normally last week, served a lot of aces and also quite a few into the net because I haven’t found my rhythm yet. But at the end it was quite good. I was happy,” Federer said of his back. “Every day that goes by is a step forward, and every match is a step forward.”
Federer won two matches at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, beating Fritz in three sets and sweeping German veteran Florian Mayer in two sets before losing to Thiem. Federer, though, held a match point against the Austrian.
“I’m just hoping I can keep up a good level from Stuttgart. It got better as the tournament progressed. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t win against Thiem but after all I felt improvement throughout,” Federer said.
The top-seeded Federer will play German wild card Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round.
American moves into the second round on the grass
American Steve Johnson earned his first career Top 10 win on Monday, sweeping World No. 10 Richard Gasquet 7-6(2), 6-2 at the Aegon Championships in London. The 26-year-old had been 0-13 against Top 10 foes before Monday.
Gasquet had a set point on his racquet before a lengthy rain delay halted the match at 5-all. After the rain stopped, Johnson took the tie-break and earned two breaks of serve in the second set to move into the second round.
Last year’s runner-up Kevin Anderson qualified at The Queen’s Club by beating Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6(2), 7-6(5). In last year’s final, Anderson fell to Andy Murray, who also returns to the ATP World Tour 500 event this year.
Canadian Vasek Pospisil also qualified on Monday, overcoming World No. 136 Tobias Kamke of Germany 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The Aegon Championships was voted Tournament of the Year in its category for the third consecutive year by players in January. This year’s field also features World No. 5 Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic, No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Marin Cilic, the event’s 2012 champion, Roberto Bautista Agut, John Isner and Gilles Simon round out the remaining seeds in London.
Two former champions – Grigor Dimitrov (2014) and Sam Querrey (2010) – also will play this week.
David Beckham says watching his son Romeo play tennis with world number two Andy Murray at Queen’s Club was “surreal”.
Romeo, 13, has recently joined the London club, which is hosting the Aegon Championships, and was planning to watch some players warm up.
Former England captain Beckham said: “It’s obviously a huge treat and one that he wasn’t expecting or I wasn’t expecting as well.
“We were just coming down here to see some of the guys warm up and practise, so this is a big plus for him.”
This clip is originally from 5 live Sport on the 12 June 2016.
France’s world number 10 Richard Gasquet is beaten 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 by American Steve Johnson in a rain-affected opening day at Queen’s Club.
WATCH MORE: Andy Murray says Ivan Lendl reunion happened quickly